10 Night Fishing Tips To Help You Catch More Fish!
When going night fishing at dock lights, there are a few techniques you can use to help make your trips more successful! In this post, we’ll go over 10 tips that will help you when you go night fishing!
1. Be Quiet!
While you’re night fishing, make sure you talk softly. And try to keep your movement to a minimum. If you do have to walk around, be mindful of your footsteps. Since there is less activity in waterways at night (fewer boats and less traffic), the fish spook easier.
Think about it like this: If you’re at home, a big BANG in the middle of the night is going to scare you a lot more than one in the middle of the day, right? It’s the same for fish! So, try to stay as quiet as you can while night fishing.
2. Use Scented Bait or Live Bait
Fish have less visibility at night than they do during the day. Scented or Live Bait are easier to see/sense than regular lures. Predator fish can feel the vibration created by moving live bait. Fish can sense dead or scented bait. Just make sure you’re not using rotten bait. If you want your bait to get attention, make sure it’s easy to sense!
3. Bring Lights
This might be shocking, but it’s DARK at night. You don’t want to be fumbling around in the dark while getting ready or changing your setup. A headlamp is perfect. But be careful! Don’t shine any lamps directly onto the surface of the water. It’s sure to scare away fish in the area.
4. Avoid Casting A Shadow
Try not to cast a shadow on the water. It can spook the fish. If you’re fishing off a brightly lit dock, or if you have any overhead lighting, try to turn it off while you’re night fishing. You don’t want any of the fish to know you’re there. A big, scary shadow is a great way to scare off even some of the bravest fish.
5. Find A Good Spot
This is easier said than done, we know. But if there are any spots you have success during the day, try visiting those at night! If you don’t have any spots in mind, you might have to deal with a little trial and error before you find the best place for night fishing. While you’re looking for spots, you’ll want to find one with moving water, and some type of structure. Predator fish like to hang out near bridges, docks, or rock piles. These areas typically have larger amounts of bait fish.
6. Use Fish Lights!
Placing an Underwater Fish Light in an area that already has good fish activity is a GAME CHANGER when it comes to night fishing. If you’ve found a spot you like, try throwing one of our Fish Lights in. Fish lights reflect off the particles in the water. This, in turn attracts more baitfish. More baitfish means more predator fish for you to target.
If your favorite fishing spot already has a fish light, then you’re golden! The longer you can leave a fish light in the water, the better. It starts to build a feeding cycle with the fish, and will bring them back every night. That’s why fishing off docks with dock lights works so well. The lights stay there year-round, so the fish are used to eating dinner there every night.
7. Use The Right Leader
The leader you use on your line is essential. You don’t want it to be too visible. When fishing around fish lights, you want to use a very thin 20-30lb fluorocarbon leader. If you use a heavy 40-80lb or steel leader, the fish will be able to see it, and won’t get anywhere near it. The 20-30lb fluorocarbon leader is more challenging to see, so the fish will be keener to attack your bait.
8. Try Night Fishing From A Boat
If you’re going to fish from a boat at night, make sure the motor is shut off. Also, when you first arrive at your spot and cut the power, give it some time before expecting any fish to be in the area. If you’re using a trolling motor, it’s crucial to use it on a low setting, to try to avoid scaring as many fish as possible. But it’s better to anchor in an area with a fast-moving current. Fish are lazy. They will just ride the current, rather than swim around in still water at night.
9. Use The Tides
We’re based in Florida, but watching the tides is important anywhere. Outgoing tides are our favorite times to fish, but incoming tides work well too. The most important thing is that you’re fishing in moving water. With moving water, shrimp, baitfish, and crabs are moving around, which means the predator fish will be there as well. Predator fish will ride the tides, and grab bait to eat while the tide moves them.
10. Moon Phases
A night with a full moon is a great night for fishing. Fish can see a lot better and will feed all night long. A full moon also brings stronger tides, which bulls the baitfish in (and out) farther. Our favorite place to fish on a full moon is large bridges with deeper channels. Full moon nights are also great for shrimping. Full moons aren’t all great. Daytime during a fool moon will have slower tides. So, if it’s a full moon, save the fishing for nighttime!
Get Fishing!
Now that you have 10 new tips to try, head out to the water in the evening sometime soon! If you catch anything, feel free to email us and brag about your victories! We love to talk fishing with our customers, and have built an awesome community full of great people!
